Game Recap: Pistons Escape Minnesota With Huge Overtime Victory
The Detroit Pistons have defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 129-123 in overtime, getting a huge win over a team that looked to have had the Pistons beat late in the third quarter. Blake Griffin, despite his illness, came up huge and corrected many of his mistakes that he endured in Milwaukee, with just two turnovers on the night. He finished with one of his best performances of the season, with 34 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and a few huge plays that led the Pistons on a rampant comeback down the stretch. Reggie Bullock remarkably topped the career-high he set on Monday tonight, finishing with a career-high 33 points as not only kept the team in the game when the rest of the team looked lost, but also kept the game close once Minnesota started hitting their shots. Reggie Jackson also came through with arguably his best performance of the season; he played a calm and collected game and finished with an efficient 24 points and six assists. Andre Drummond also had a solid game, finish with both 16 points and 16 rebounds, also sending the game to overtime with a putback and hitting an incredible step back 3-pointer in extra minutes:
Andre Drummond stepback 3-pointer? Yup! #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/wUDMra2nls
— Palace Pistons (@PalaceOfPistons) December 20, 2018
Minnesota fell down 12-0 early, but stormed back midway through the first and held a comfortable lead for most of the half after that. Detroit tried to come back and take the lead, overcoming double-digit deficits multiple times, but the Wolves held their ground until the fourth. Minnesota's unsung heroes were Robert Covington, acquired in November's Jimmy Butler trade, and former MVP and current Sixth Man of the Year candidate Derrick Rose. Rose was fantastic the whole game, as the Pistons failed to contain the shifty guard's drives to the basket and pull-up jumpers. Covington, meanwhile, seemed to not miss in the fourth, finishing with 22 points for the game after not doing much in the first half. The Pistons are now 3-2 in overtime games and 15-14 overall and now head to Charlotte to again face the Hornets, a team the Pistons lost to at the buzzer last week. Featured Image - (Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports)